Book Review: "Lost Covenant" by Ari Marmell

Lost Covenant is the third book in Ari Marmell's Widdershins series. I really enjoy this series, possibly because the set-up is similar to my own book The Skewed Throne, with a young rogue-ish girl with morals living in the slums of the city who gets caught up in events far beyond her standing. My book is a little darker in nature (aimed for the adult crowd), while Ari's is aimed more toward the YA market though.





In any case, the premise of this book is that Widdershins has fled the city of Davillon after her last altercation and its consequences, afraid that her presence is endangering all of those she loves. While away, she stumbles over a plot to destroy the Delacroix family. Since Alexandre Delacrois was the nobleman who took her in from the slums and cared for her, she attempts to unravel the plot and save the remnants of her adopted father's relatives. Except none of them trust her. She'll have to convince them her intentions are good while at the same time stopping the criminal underground from killing her . . .

As I said, I enjoy Widdershins, mostly because of her character and especially because of her relationship with the god Olgun. The banter between these two keeps the pace moving along swiftly and brings lighter elements to some of the darker parts of the book. I will admit that it takes some settling in to get used to Widdershins and her conversational style when you start one of her books, but once you adjust, she invariably makes you grin. There are darker moments in the books, as Widdershins deals with the darker side of human nature and how ugly it can get, but her basic morality keeps the reader grounded.

This book was interesting in comparison to the previous two, because the bad guys weren't all that supernatural in nature. The biggest nod in that direction was the alchemy (which I haven't spoiled because they mention it in the cover copy of the book). The criminals are just that--criminals, with no real supernatural element to them. This non-supernatural aspect made this book less terrifying than the previous one (where the bad guy was damn creepy), but it was also refreshing. I found the final twist as to what they really intended gruesome and believable and a cool twist on alchemy.

And there was a subplot woven through everything that is not resolved here and is obviously intended as a hook into the next book. I won't spoil that, but it certainly makes me wish the next book were out now.

Overall, a solid book. Not as good as the previous one (but mostly because it wasn't as dark, and I like dark). Widdershins continues to grow, and I feel that this book was a nice breather in her adventures, before she returns and faces what was so obviously set up as her next challenge in the next book.

Book Review: "Polterheist" by Laura Resnick

Polterheist is the fifth book in Laura Resnick's Esther Diamond light and humorous urban fantasy series. Lots of fun and an easy read, not the usual dark and heavy urban fantasy that seems to be the norm.





The basic premise is that Esther Diamond is forced to work at the department store Fenster's during the holiday season as a Jewish elf, since her usual "between jobs" work as a waitress is unavailable. So she endures the insanity of the holiday crowds with gritted teeth. But then inanimate objects start coming to life and trying to kill her, while her fellow employees keep disappearing. Not to mention that someone keeps hijacking Fenster delivery trucks, bringing her erstwhile boyfriend Connor into the picture. And all of it seems to be escalating as the holiday season reaches its peak. Is it all caused by a poltergeist, perhaps the recently deceased matriarch of Fenster's come back to haunt them, or is it something more defarious? Esther will need the help of Max, resident wizard, and the mobster hitman Lucky to figure it all out . . . hopefully before her boyfriend arrests her or the city of New York is destroyed in the process.

As usual, the humor never stops with Laura Resnick playing up the insanity of working in retail during the holiday season to its maximum effect. I've worked retail myself, and quite a bit of this would have been even funnier if I hadn't. So there's a sharp edge to the humor here for most. But it's still rollicking fun. Esther is in true, typical form, causing mayhem and destruction, all with the best of intentions.

The plot for this book wasn't as strong as the previous book, Vamparazzi, especially the play on the title. The allusion to the strange activity actually coming from a poltergeist is more of a passing theory, quickly brought forth and discarded, and I don't think any reader will be convinced that's what's going on from the beginning. But that's fine, because it makes a great title, and what's really going on is so much more deadly and interesting in the long run. As usual, there's a great cast of characters, with Esther dealing with the other employees trapped in elf and Santa outfits and the owners of the department store and management. Max and Lucky don't appear much in this story, which is fine.

Connor is back, of course, and actually the interaction between him and Esther is the best part of the entire book. Their plot arch takes a significant leap forward in a very good way, in my opinion, after having stalled out in the last book. I really enjoyed how this developed here and it was by far my favorite section in the book. It was handled well and believably and not in any heavy-handed, overly romantic way. In fact, it was just right.

So, not the strongest plot in the series so far, but certainly a ton of fun and with some great development between Esther and Connor. Certainly looking forward to the next book in this series.